Car-brake



'N. SMITH.

GAR BRAKE (No Model.)

No. 425,638. Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

v or the other direction.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NOAH SMITH, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,638, dated April 15, 1890.

' Application filed January 10, 1890. Serial No. 336,522. (No model.)

To all whom it ntay concern.-

Be it known that I, NOAH SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the city of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Brakes for Street and other Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The several features of my invention and the various advantages resulting from their use, conjointly or otherwise, will be apparent from the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, and to which reference is hereby made, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a street-car, illustrating my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a top view of my improved brake, the upper portion of the main or operating-shaft rod being shown In section. Fig. 3 is a top view of a section of the lower portion of said brake, the section being taken at the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

A indicates the outer front beam or portion of the platform of the street-car.

B shows the dash, suitably secured to the top side of the said outer portion of the carplatform. The lower end of the operatinglever shaft or rod O is duly journaled at the front of said platform-as, for example, in a bar D, containing a vertical journal-bearing W. In this bearing the lower end of the shaft 0 turns. Fixed on the lower portion of this rod 0, above the bearing M, is a ratchetwheel E, concentric with said rod. The customary double pawl F is pivoted at F to the platform. Either limb of said pawl may be made to engage said ratchet-wheel, and according as one or the other of said limbs engages said ratchet so the .rotation of said ratchet and shaft or rod 0 is checked in one Just above the ratchet E is the pinion-wheel G, fixed on said shaft 0. The teeth of this pinion mesh with the teeth of a gear-wheel H, fixed on a shaft I. The upper end of this shaft I is journaled at the front'of the platform A, and the lower end is journaled lower down, as hereinafter described.

The journal-bearing J, in which an upper portion'of the shaft I is journaled, is preferably located in the same bar D that carries the journal-bearing 'W of shaft C.

The upper end of the j ournal-bearing J is continued upward in a boss K, which latter, in a convenient and economical manner, raises the gear-wheel H, so that its teeth mesh with the teeth of the pinion G, aforementioned.

The bar D is bolted or otherwise firmly secured to the front end of the platform A. The preferable provision for a lower journal-bean ing N for the lower portion of shaft I consists of the looped iron or hanger L, whose upper ends M M have fianges h M, whereby the hanger is securely bolted to the under side of the front portion of the platform. In the lower portion of this hanger L is the journalbearing N. Between this bearing N and the bottom of the platform there is connected to the shaft I one end of the usual brake chain or cord P extending under the car, and connected to the brake-rod or equivalent connection for operating the brake-levers.

The lever-shaft 0 turns in an upper journal-bearing S, located at the upper part of the dash and preferably secured thereto. The shaft C extends above the dash, and to its upper end is fixed a hand-lever T. This lever may be a wheel or an arm. The lever shown in Fig. 1 is a very common and desirable form of such lever, which can be readily lifted off from the shaft 0 and readily reapplied thereto. The gear 11 should, as shown, be of a larger diameter than the pinion G. Ordinarily it should be of twice the diameter of pinion E.

The manner in which my invention operates is no doubt already apparent. In general it may be specified that the rotation of the shaft 0 turns the pinion G. The latter rotates the gear-wheel H, which in turn winds up the brake-chain and brings the brakes to bear against the wheels. The pawl F, pushed against the ratchet E by the foot of the operator, will hold the pinion G and wheel II stationary until the operator unlocks the pawl from engagement with the ratchet. As the wheel H is larger than the pinion G, it will turn slower than the pinion G. The lower movement of wheel H is accompanied with a correspondingly increased amount of power.

I have found that mechanism as ordinarily constructed for applying power to the brakes was in certain descriptions of heavy cars entirely inadequate to prevent the brakes from too frequently slipping on the wheels. Furthermore, the brakes did not grasp the wheels with sufficient power to properly check the car and to quickly control its movementssuch, for instance, among many examples, as the cars propelled by electric apparatus. My invention overcomes this difficulty and enables the brakeman to readily apply with ease treble the power he has heretofore in the old mode been able to employ.

It must be borne in mind that the lever T cannot be lengthened on account of the lack of room at the platform, and alsoif its length were increased it would be too long to be successfully and quickly manipulated by the brakeman, as it would then be too long for thelength of the brakemans arm.

My invention retains the lever T of the same convenient length as heretofore and at the same time enables the brakeman to operate the brakes with a greatly-increased power amply suificientto control the movements of heavy cars.

What Iclaim as new and of myin-vention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, isl 1. The combination of the shaft 0, jourf naled above and also below in journal-bearing W and carrying ratchet E, and pinion G, located above the ratchet, and shaft I, carrying gear Hot larger diameter than the pinion G and meshing therewith, the brake-chain being connected to the shaft I, and bar D,

having journal-bearing W, and journal-bearing' J, provided with boss or raised annular portion K, elevating gear H to the plane of pinion G, substantially 'as and for the pur-' poses specified. a

' 2. The combination of the shaft (3, journaled above and also below in journal-bearing W and carrying ratchet E, and pinion G,

"located above the ratchet, and shaft I, carrying gear H of larger diameter than the pinion G and meshing therewith, the brake-chain being connected to the shaft I, and bar I), having journaLbearing W, and journal-bean ing J, provided with boss or raised annular portion K, elevating gear H to the plane-of pinion G, and hanger L,'having journal-bearing N for shaft I',s11bstan-tially as andfor the purposes specified.

Attest:

A. L. HERRLINGER, K. SMITH. 

